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The movie is being made by American director and scriptwriter Nicholas Simon. Shooting of the film, which is being produced by UK’s Viet Film, will begin in Viet Nam in November.
Bao Ninh is pleased that the movie’s script has stayed faithful to his novel. "The only thing I had to do was adjust some of the dialogues to make them more in tune with the war period," he said.
Simon’s wealth of experience in film-making will prove beneficial to The Sorrow of War, which sees him don the hat of director for the first time. He has been involved in producing various movies such as The Beautiful Country by Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland and Vertical Ray of the Sun by Vietnamese French director Tran Anh Hung.
Although Simon had nothing to do with the American War in Viet Nam, he remembers being impressed and moved by the novel when he first read it more than 10 years ago.
"Over the course of the past 10 years, Simon has visited me many times to discuss how to adapt the novel into a movie. I know Simon’s sentiments towards the American War and recognise that he wants to learn more about the Vietnamese people," said the 56-year-old writer, himself also a former soldier of the liberation army.
Ninh and Simon spent a great deal of time discussing various aspects of the movie, which Ninh said may have caused a few delays in the making of the movie as there was a language barrier. "I don’t speak English, certainly not enough to discuss cinematography which requires specific knowledge. We relied on translators and it takes time to translate a script, even if it is a minor detail that needs changing."
Simon worked with scriptwriter Peter Himmelstein to complete the film’s script which was approved by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. According to members of the assessment panel the script was: "coherent, emotional and attractive."
To ensure the film’s success, carefully screened auditions have been taking place since June. Over 70 young Vietnamese men and women have so far auditioned for select roles. Their portfolios and taped auditions will be sent for final selection by Simon.
The film crew has already selected spots for filming after visiting several locations in Ha Tay, Thai Nguyen, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and Hai Phong. The mountainous region of the North has been selected as the most suitable location for filming.
The Sorrow of War, which won the prize of the Vietnamese Writers’ Association in 1991, is among the list of the UK’s Translators Association of the Society of Authors top 50 outstanding translations of the last 50 years.
The novel shares space with other foreign classics on the list like The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Aug 5, 2008
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